I can’t count the number of times that I’ve heard guitartists and bass players bashing away at the main riff, through the walls at rehearsal studio complexes.
Now it’s our turn… Transcribed for a three-piece horn section to play at an upcoming gig.
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Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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Love this! Speaks for itself, really…
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Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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Having collaborated in over 400 online recording projects, there are a few lessons that I’ve learned for achieving the best results. I thought I’d pass on some of these on an ad-hoc basis. In this post, I’m sharing a few simple thoughts about how to play “tightly” together when you and your collaborators are not in the same room (or even in the same hemisphere).
When we play live, we know that a rock-solid connection is needed between the drummer and the bass player in order to sound tight and set a strong foundation for the other musicians. Without that, the band will sound loose and sloppy. These guys must work to lock things together and set the groove for everyone else to play in. We need to work hard when recording virtually, to ensure that we achieve the same standards of musicianship and performance discipline.
The order in which the tracks are recorded is key to achieving this.
Recording this way, from the ground up, we’re able to form and then build upon a strong, solid rhythmic and chordal foundation. And since backing tracks can often be tuned to something other than the A440 that our rhythm section will tune to, we avoid potential catastrophes by removing the backing track before vocals, horns, and strings can be deceived by it.
When I’m asked to collaborate on trumpet, I almost always wait until the rhythm section has completed its tracks before recording my own. This allows me to better play “in the pocket” rhythmically, while also avoiding the risk of accidentally tuning my ear and horn to a backing track that is not quite on A440.
Do you have any thoughts on this? Or better practices that you follow? If so, please share by adding a comment!
I was asked to play David Sanborn’s iconic alto sax parts for a recording of this David Bowie masterpiece. It’s a complex beast, but fortunately, I found the fine work of Scott Dart @SDartSax who had already transcribed it for alto sax. From there I transposed and played it.
Even for trumpet, I needed to belt out a High-E, which is a testament to Sanborn’s remarkable work to play a strong Double-B on alto. Bowie was very fortunate to have him in the studio!
The likelihood of anyone ever wanting to play this again on trumpet is probably zero. But maybe someone might want the transposition for soprano sax or clarinet one day, so here it is.
Thanks again to Scott Dart for his original transcription for alto sax. Be sure to check out his site!
Resources:
Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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Transcribed horn charts for an upcoming performance.
Resources:
Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.
In memory of Bones Hillman.
Midnight Oil and its fans recently lost bass player and vocalist Bones Hillman. Bones sings the most beautiful backing vocals in this song and many others of the band’s. His passing is a terribly sad loss.
The “Powderworkers”, Midnight Oil’s global fan base, recorded a version of this song in tribute to Bones. I transcribed parts for flugelhorn, tenor sax, and trombone for our impromptu Powderworkers horn section. I based the parts on what I could hear from the DVD of the band’s 2009 Sound Relief performance and incorporated the French horn part as (faintly) heard on the original 1990 album recording. The horns play after the final chorus starts, after the 3:50 mark on this video.
As a long time fan of Midnight Oil, and having been to many, many live performances, it was an honor to transcribe and perform one of my favorite songs.
Rest In Peace, Bones.
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Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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Transcribed horn charts for an upcoming performance. Three-piece horn section, just as the Tedeschi Trucks Band uses: Trumpet, Tenor Sax, Trombone.
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Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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Sometimes it can be difficult to make sure I acknowledge and credit the people whose creativity made art possible. In this case, I was taken by Robyn Adele Anderson’s cover of Paint It Black, by The Rolling Stones, which she performed in the style of Back To Back, by Amy Winehouse. So I transcribed the horn parts, tweaked it a tiny beat, and covered it with an amazing vocalist and some great musicians.
Thank you to everybody!
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Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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I transcribed this for a live performance with a blues band (which was not recorded). It aligns to the above YouTube clip.
Resources:
Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
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A new song and artist for me, as well as a new genre “trip-hop” that I was not previously aware of. From the Waldeck album Ballroom Stories, composed by Joy Malcolm and Klaus Waldeck. The original recording features Thomas Berghammer on trumpet.
Simple, fresh, and enjoyable to play.
To quote the AllMusic Review by Mark Deming:
Producer and songwriter Waldeck takes his listeners on a musical journey through the past and present on his 2007 album Ballroom Stories. Dominated by jazzy instrumental structures and the vocal stylings of Joy Malcolm, Ballroom Stories is electronic dance music designed to evoke the sounds and moods of the 1920s, when glamour and intrigue walked hand in hand at dance halls and speakeasies.
My transcription is true and accurate to the original recording, and “Take 1” of my own recording reflected that. Although, after much encouragement from our producer, my revised recording includes significant embellishment to emphasize the “jazzy instrumental structures” of the song. I hope you like it.
Resources:
Transcribed by me and free for you to use.
What do you think? Please leave a comment and let me know.
